MISTER MONDAY KEYS TO THE KINGDOM

By Garth Nix. London: Harper Collins, 2003.

This is a look at the first book in the popular "Keys To The Kingdom" series from a Christian point of view.

Most importantly, "Mister Monday" presents a different view of Creation and the universe than the Bible. As in the Bible, the universe came from nothing. However, that is where any similarities between this book and the Word of God stop. The Upper and Lower Houses of the book in question were brought into being by the Great Archetect, who is a woman. After this, the Secondary Realms were created.

Everything returns to nothing. The book contains the phrase, "Nothing is forever." Additionally, everything returns to nothing, which means there is no afterlife. In other words, this world is all there is and outside of this present realm there's nothing to hope for. Way to make our teenagers even more depressed than they are already.

According to "Mister Monday", the Great Archetect came from nothing, when Christians know God always existed.

This book says that the Great Archetect "Liked to take on ideas from the Secondary Realms." God is the sustainer and supplier of all. He does not have His creation create things to inspire Him.

There is a character in this series called the Old One, which is the same name as the deity of an African tribe. I take it the Old One is supposed to represent Satan. The Old One was cast away from the presence of the Great Archetect because of differences they had. According to the Old One, "the Great Archetect sought to deny my artistry." On the contrary, it was not at all that Satan had a better plan than God. His whole aim was to take over the universe and rule in God's place. It wasn't as if Satan had a different plan for how God could run His creation and God was just an old stuffed shirt who couldn't listen to others.

We're told that, though the Old One is opposed to the Great Archetect, "He does not dispise Her work." Do not be fooled, though. Satan does dispise God's work. Jesus quite clearly says of the devil, "the thief cometh only to steal and to kill and to destroy,."

The character of the Old One in this series of books can be nothing more than an attempt on the part of Nix to get teenagers to worship the devil, or at least have a more favourable view of him.

There is also a centrally important character in this series of books called the Will, representing the Word of God, or part of it anyway so far in the series. The Will is selfish. God's Word is not selfish, but it appears that way to those who don't believe in what it says. The Bible is opposed to the devil as the Will is opposed to the Old One, but in "Mister Monday" this is characterized as a bad thing.

Again, this is an attempt on the author's part to subvert and discredit the Bible.

The House which the main character finds himself in is a place of harsh punishments and no love. This is designed as a bit of subtle propaganda to set young people up for the world they can and should expect.

Speaking of propaganda, there's loads more of it in "Mister Monday." When Arthur, the main character was born, it was in the midst of a horrible flu pandemic which took the lives of his birthparents. Now, however, thanks to a new biannual vaccine, there hasn't been a case of flu in five years. (Way to bolster the manufacturers of vaccinations.)

That is, until Fetchers (demonic beings from the House) invade the Secondary Realms looking for Arthur and bring a strain of some sort of plague with them. When the plague begins to spread, the government moves into action. The phone and internet service at victim's houses is cut off so panic cannot be spread. Sounds like what governments want to do in real life.

Also, there are mass quarantines of suspected plague victims, with severe punative consequences for those who try to escape. Again, sounds like what the government wants to do in real life.

As I said above, Mister Monday presents a pretty distopic view for things, with The House containing no love, harsh punishments for disobedience and poverty of most of the Denizens (the citizens of the House.) This is similar to the theme of most teen fiction these days.

There are other minor things in this book that go against the Bible, such as the use of transfer plates by Denizens, Arthur's friend Leaf having a grandmother who was an Irish witch ("thou shalt not suffer a witch to live"), the use of magic, and a ritual in which Arthur must prick his thumbs (causing oneself pain to gain acceptance, a common theme in pagan religious practice.)

One more thing. There are creatures in "Mister Monday" known as bibliophages. They eat writing, any kind of writing. Could this represent the two-legged snakes who try to steal and destroy knowledge that runs contrary to their agenda?